Ani M

“Through most of the ride, none of us really said anything.It was hard to hear over the sound of the vehicle, and there wasn‘t much to say.
Are you scared that the Omte will literally crush you?
Oh, me too!”
― Amanda Hocking, Crystal Kingdom

“Where are we going?” I asked. It might have been a better question to ask before I'd gotten into the black Mustang with Konstantin, but I hadn't wanted him to leave without me. And did it really matter where we were going? I had no place to be. No place to call home.
“I don't know.” He glanced in the rearview mirror, watching the diner disappear behind us as he sped down the highway. “Do you have somewhere in mind?”
I shook my head. “No.” Then I looked over at him. “But we should find someplace where we can really talk.”
“How about a motel?” he suggested, and when I scowled at him, he laughed. “If I was going to murder you, I would’ve done it already, and if I was just looking to get laid, believe me when I say there are easier ways to do it than this.”
― Amanda Hocking, Crystal Kingdom

“If you hurt her, you will not leave here alive,” I growled at him. “I will kill you with my bare fucking hands, Bayle.”
Bayle started to laugh. “Oh, you really think so?”
Something flashed in Tilda’s eyes, and her body tensed up. Her expression hardened, and there was a resolve in her that I knew all too well from training with her. Tilda was a master of restraint, but she could destroy someone if she wanted to.
“Wait,” Tilda said in a stilted voice. “This is Bayle Lundeen? Bayle, who conspired with Kennet? Bayle, who’s one of the reasons my husband is dead?”
I nodded once. “Yeah. That’s him.”
For the first time, Bayle seemed to realize he might have bitten off more than he could chew, and he looked down at Tilda with new appreciation. Tilda may be pregnant, but she was still tall and strong, with muscular arms and powerful legs.
I was sure that when Bayle had first captured her, she’d been more docile so as not to risk him hurting the baby. But now she was pissed.
With one sudden jerk, she flung her head backward, smashing into Bayle’s face. From where I stood several feet away from her, I heard the sound of his nose crunching. Before he could tilt the knife toward her, she grabbed his wrist, bent it backward, and, using her other arm as leverage, she broke his arm with a loud snap.
It all happened within a few seconds, and Bayle screamed in pain and stumbled back. His arm hung at a weird angle, and blood streamed down his face. But Tilda wasn't done yet.
With a swipe of her leg, she kicked his legs out from under him. He fell back into the mud, and Tilda kicked him hard in the groin, causing Konstantin to wince behind me. Then she jumped on top of him, punching him repeatedly in the face with both fists.
His body had gone limp but I wasn't sure if that was because he was unconscious or dead. Either way, Tilda apparently decided that she wanted to be certain. She grabbed the knife that he’d dropped on the ground beside them, and she stabbed him straight through the heart.
And then she just sat there, kneeling on his dead body and breathing hard. None of us said anything or moved. It felt like she needed the moment to herself.
When she finally stood up, she shook her arms out, probably both because her fists hurt from hitting Bayle so hard and also to get rid of some of the blood.
“Do you feel better?” I asked her.
She nodded, still catching her breath as she walked over to me. “Yeah. We have to do something about these bodies, though. The humans will get suspicious.”
“That girl is a fucking beast,” Konstantin whispered as she walked by, and he looked at her with newfound admiration.
“You should see her when she’s not pregnant,” I said.”
― Amanda Hocking, Crystal Kingdom

“Baltsar bowed slightly again and gestured for us to enter, so I smiled politely and followed Linnea inside.
“Just to let you know, there’s a couple bodies in the back of the SUV you probably want to take care of,” Ridley told Baltsar as he walked by.
“We already killed them for you, so it shouldn’t be that much of a problem,” Konstantin added.”
― Amanda Hocking, Crystal Kingdom